This invention relates to wireless games, particularly, customizing interactive multi-player games according to past user terminal activity.
Electronic games have become a major part of the entertainment industry in today""s modern world. The playing of electronic games on stand-alone terminals has long been popular. However, in recent years these games have migrated into a network environment.
As the complexity of electronic games, powered by increasingly sophisticated hardware and software, improves game-players often find themselves playing games which are not necessarily suited to their particular temperaments, habits, and reactions. Clearly, designers and manufacturers of electronic games must cater to the broadest possible commercial market. However in so doing there are many game players who are less than satisfied with the final result.
The restrictive user interfaces presented by mobile stations present a particular challenge when considering game-playing across a mobile network. In particular, when considering network games of the xe2x80x9cinteractive fictionxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cadventurexe2x80x9d style, a game-player typically suffers from a limited perceptual consciousness of the potential context of the game, being constrained by the limited user interface presented by the typical mobile station. The richness of environmental variables which can potentially be brought into the context of an adventure game are not easily incorporated into such games in current mobile station systems.
The disclosed embodiments of the present application provide a system and a method for providing an interface to and customizing an interactive application for one or more users. The interactive game of the presently preferred embodiment is played in a wireless environment using a mobile station as a user interface. The game is tracked and controlled using a game center and a game server. The game server is typically at a location remote from the mobile station. Moreover, communication between the game server and the mobile station is typically performed using a base station connected to a telecommunications network. The game server executes a software application which runs a game center. Individual games are managed within the context of this application.
In the presently preferred embodiment, the games are text based. A command set is provided for each state of the within the game. The choice of a command from the command set changes the game state. The choice of commands can be made either through a reduced keyboard, like that of a mobile station, or through voice commands. Voice commands can be translated to game instructions by an interactive voice response unit (IVRU). In the presently preferred embodiment, the IVRU is resident in the mobile station. Moreover, the IVRU may respond in a simulated or digitized voice to a player.
The disclosed embodiments provide numerous advantages. For example, use of a mobile station as an interface allows for the easy transmission and translation of voice commands. For another example, use of a voice response system increases the realism of a game to the player or players. For another example, use of a voice response system allows for greater interaction among the players of a multi-player game. For another example, use of a mobile station as an interface provides a ready source of attributes from which a game can be customized. A mobile station offers a number of unique facilities that can be integrated into a game play environment, any one or combination of which can provide a highly optimized gaming experience. For example, contacts and calendar listings in a mobile station can be modified by the game server or sound recording capabilities in a mobile station can be used to advance game play. Another advantage is that the use of a mobile station as an interface provides for the possibility of interactivity with other users and/or a server which are remote from the mobile station. For another example, use of a mobile station as an interface provides a shifting location from which new games can be customized or games can be presented which are customized to location which a user plans on visiting. For another example, use of a predictive command set allows for a reduced translation set for voice recognition functions of the IVRU. A predictive command set significantly reduces the search space required by the IVRU for recognizing a course of action to take in a game. For another example, the combination of text prompts with voice prompts helps ensure that the player chooses an appropriate response to continue the application. For another example, a mobile station is primarily a voice device with data entry capability. The delivery of a voice controlled application environment provides an applications interface that is integrated with the application delivery mechanism, namely, the mobile station. This integration allows for interfacing with the application, particularly a game, in a manner that is short, sharp, and to the point. For another example, use of the IVRU of the presently preferred embodiment can streamline data transfer. It is not necessary to digitize the entire voice command. in order to perform a function, only to recognize the intended command and send a text script directing the game server or mobile station to react appropriately.